


Threshold

by Artabria



Category: Dishonored (Video Games)
Genre: Blink and you miss it lime moment at the end, Extra tiny Corvo POV at the beginning, F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-01
Updated: 2020-08-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 03:08:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,166
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25656412
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Artabria/pseuds/Artabria
Summary: After all is said and done, the Empress and the Outsider meet once more.
Relationships: Emily Kaldwin/The Outsider
Comments: 3
Kudos: 22
Collections: Rare Pairs Exchange 2020





	Threshold

**Author's Note:**

  * For [starforged](https://archiveofourown.org/users/starforged/gifts).



In the rare occasion that the Duke of Serkonos fails to produce an heir for the post, tradition mandates that the Empire's ruler must introduce the new Duke of Serkonos to those that they'll rule over in the name of their sovereing. It has been several generations since the surname attached to the title has changed. Not to mention that the accusations of high treason and heresy that have led to this change.

Dunwall still lies in shambles after Delilah's tenure in the throne, and the father of the returned rightful Empress, the new Duke, can't help but worry about the dark, thick gloves that now always adorn his daughter's hands. Social conventions dictate that one should wear gloves, yes, but Emily had always taken them off in private or during reunions, specially during the summer months. Many assume that the Empress new habit was the result of her wish to hide whatever damage Delilah's witchcraft had caused to her hands.

Corvo knows different, even if his daughter refuses to talk about her time away from the throne.

* * *

There are countless smiles in the party that follows her announcement of the new duke. She can't help but wonder how many of those wide smiles hide plots to make sure that the situation in Serkonos remains the same as always. She's not naive enough to believe that her father will be able to turn his birthplace in an utopia, or that she will be able to do the same for the rest of the Empire, but she trusts him, and he loves the land that saw him grow.

There's not much left to do before her return to Dunwall. Some visits here and there, and then back to undoing Delilah's work in her own birthplace. She has promised herself that she will play the role of a proper empress this time around, that she won't allow herself to turn a blind eye to her people's troubles.

And yet.

And yet this night her feet keep bringing her to this window. Stilton's mansion can't be seen from here, but she knows that the now abandoned house lies in that direction. Just like she knows, and far too well, what lies withing it.

The Abbey had closed the mansion as soon as news of Delilah's defeat had reached them. The overseers hadn't wasted time in welding the doors shut to make sure that no one crossed its threshold ever again. They were afraid that, if word ever got out of how the Void mingled with their world inside its walls, heretics from all over the empire would seek to turn the mansion in a place of worship. 

But even with all the precautions they had taken, they were incaple of keeping the shadows away. Much less those shadows that had signed the order for the patrols, not those that knew how to avoid the sound of the music boxes they carried with themselves while they circled the outside walls.

* * *

Everyone slept peacefully that night, or at least that was the impression Emily had. Everything was calm, with only the steps of the guards disrupting the silence of the building. She, however, couldn't sleep. Stilton's mansion and what laid inside it were ever present in her mind. Emily rose from the bed, quickly discarding her nightgown and changing into the trousers and the shirt that she had worn in the morning. She didn't think twice as she opened her window and jumped, becoming a being of smoke and shadows that moved from roof to roof, crawling between the tiny cracks in the Abbey's defenses until she was standing in the gardens of what was once Stilton's home.

The bloodfly infestation was gone, and Emily stepped without fear inside the building, knowing that she was safe from being found. The Abbey had cleaned it when they had closed the place, and none of its members would take a step inside this place unless there was a new infestation (and they suspected that there were nests inside). So she opened door after door until and walked throught the silent hallways until she reached the room where she had originally found Stilton in, all those months ago. The room was in even more disarray than before, proof that the Abbey had searched in every little corner to find anything deemed dangerous. The piano seemed to be intact, but a quick look at its insides showed that it had been gutted during the investigation.

“What would the Abbey think if they knew what their Empress does when no one looks?” asked a voice behind her.

“Probably wonder if making deals with you is some kind a family tendency,” answered Emily, turning around to look at him. He was standing near one of the covered windows, shadows and reality twisting around him.

“Perhaps, but it's not just deals what brought you here, isn't it? There's something else you want,” commented the Outsider, getting close enough that she could touch him if he wanted. Close enough that she became far too aware that she hadn't bothered with undergarments and that the cold air of the room revealed that fact.

“Not if I'm the only one with such a want.”

The Outsider lifted his hand, resting it against her face. Emily didn't dare to move. His fingers trailed down.

“Aren't you meant to be the pious empress, upholding the Abbey's values?" he said entertained.

"I think all chances of being a pious empress dissapeared the moment I agreed to wear your mark," she answered. "Now, shall we stop dancing?"

“This is... quite unusal,”he commented while he caressed her neck. “It has never happened, the realities have never mingled like this before.”

“Outsider,” she said. His eyes turned to look at her.

"I also wish for this dance to end. All those months ago, I wished to touch you the moment you stepped into my realm, even if time was of the essence,” he confessed. The Outsider stepped into her space, making her move backwards until her back touched the piano. He didn't touch her, or hold his arms at her sides, but she felt unable to move away or turn her gaze from his.

“What about now?”

Her answer was his lips upon hers as his hand tangled in her long unbound hair. She felt the air change around her, the background sound of the clock dissapear as her back touched a soft surface. The Outsider's lips moved to her neck as she looked at the half detroyed walls of her bedroom in Dunwall.

“How long do we have?”

The Outsider lifted his head to look at her. His hand moved under her shirt, up and up until his thumb stroked her nipple.

“As long as we wish,” he answered. “I'm the only one with power over the Void, now”.

She helped him lift her shirt over her head and reached to him, burying her hands in his dark hair.

“Good," she said before kissing him.


End file.
